JP6562809B2 - Medium transport mechanism in printing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a medium transport mechanism in a printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink from a print head of a printing unit to a sheet-like printing medium such as a cloth supplied to a printing unit on a machine body side.

The paper is spread on the platen, the paper is sandwiched between the transport roller and the pressure roller, and the paper is sent in a predetermined direction by the rotation of the transport roller, while the recording head is moved across the paper on the printing surface of the platen. In an inkjet printer that reciprocally moves and prints on the paper on the printing surface, a transport roller and a pressure roller are arranged on the upstream side of the paper transport path with reference to the printing surface of the platen, and downstream or printing A cylindrical suction roller is rotatably arranged on the surface, a paper suction force is generated on at least the surface of the suction roller that supports the paper, the paper is sandwiched between the transport roller and the pressure roller, and the paper is placed on the suction roller. A paper feed characterized in that it is brought into close contact with the paper support surface, and the conveyance roller and the suction roller are synchronously rotated in the same direction and driven so as to have substantially the same peripheral speed. Location is known conventionally (see Patent Document 1).
Further, in the roller recording paper feed type recording apparatus in which the recording paper is driven by the conveying roller and the pinch roller, a sub roller is provided, and a predetermined position between both the rollers including the sub roller and the conveying roller is set as a recording position, 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a roller recording paper feeding type recording apparatus having means for changing the peripheral speed of both rollers according to the recording paper transport direction in order to optimize the tension of the recording paper at the recording position is known. (See Patent Document 2).

JP 2000-351499 A JP-A-62-146859

When printing is performed by transporting a cloth or the like, it is desirable to transport it with tension. Conventionally, as shown in the patent document, there is a structure in which the tension is conveyed by increasing the peripheral speed of the discharge side roller and slipping on the roller surface. However, this structure is not stable because the print medium such as the cloth is not firmly held and conveyed. In addition, there is a problem that the apparatus using the suction mechanism cannot cope with the cloth.
In addition, when printing on a print medium such as cloth, wrinkles are generated in the print medium between the supply-side guide roller and the transport roller. When this wrinkle occurs, the transport roller remains in the wrinkled state. However, there is a problem that proper printing is hindered.
The present invention aims to solve the above problems.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a printing unit that performs printing on a printing medium, a printing medium conveyance driving unit that conveys the printing medium to the printing unit, a printing medium supply unit that supplies the printing medium, and printing. A printing medium discharge unit that guides the medium from the printing unit in a discharging direction; and a printing medium supply side guide unit that guides the printing medium supplied from the printing medium supply unit to the printing medium conveyance drive unit. A printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting a printing liquid from a printing head of a printing unit to supply a printing medium to be supplied, the supply side having a meshing surface that meshes with the printing medium on the circumferential surface of the printing medium supply side guide unit The guide roller and a torque limiter coupled to the support shaft of the supply side guide roller are configured to support the supply side guide roller so that tension is applied to the print medium moving in the direction of the print medium conveyance drive unit. And the mark Tension of the print medium between the supply side guide roller and the medium conveying drive unit, characterized in that it has to be maintained at a predetermined value by the torque transmission interrupted operation of the torque limiter.
Further, the present invention is characterized in that the meshing surface of the supply side guide roller is configured such that minute protrusions are densely arranged.
Further, the present invention provides the print medium discharge unit, a discharge side guide roller provided with a meshing surface that meshes with the print medium on a peripheral surface, a discharge side guide roller driving unit that drives a support shaft of the discharge side guide roller, A torque limiter connected to the support shaft of the discharge side guide roller, the peripheral speed of the discharge side guide roller is set faster than the peripheral speed of the transport roller, and printing between the transport roller and the discharge side guide roller When the tension of the medium exceeds a predetermined value, the torque limiter cuts off the torque transmission from the discharge-side guide roller driving unit, and the tension of the printing medium is held at a predetermined value. .
In the invention, the printing medium supply side guide portion is connected to the supply side guide roller, a supply side guide roller driving portion that drives a support shaft of the supply side guide roller, and a support shaft of the supply side guide roller. A torque limiter configured to set the rotation of the supply side guide roller in a direction opposite to the rotation of the conveyance roller, and the tension of the print medium between the conveyance roller and the supply side guide roller exceeds a predetermined value. And the torque limiter cuts off torque transmission from the supply-side guide roller driving unit so that the tension of the print medium is maintained at a predetermined value.
Further, according to the present invention, when the support shaft of the supply side guide roller is fixed to the machine body via a torque limiter, and the tension of the printing medium between the transport roller and the supply side guide roller exceeds a predetermined value, the torque limiter is The supply-side guide roller is unlocked by the torque transmission cutoff operation, and the tension of the print medium is maintained at a predetermined value.
In the invention, it is preferable that the print medium is a roll-like member such as cloth.
In the invention, it is preferable that the print medium is a sheet material such as cloth. Further, the present invention is characterized in that the supply side guide roller is provided in a place where the conveyance direction of the print medium is changed.
According to the present invention, a support shaft arranged in a direction crossing the print medium is loosely fitted to the support shaft in a print medium supply conveyance path for guiding the print medium from the print medium supply unit to the print medium supply side guide unit. A flexible split roller mechanism including a plurality of hollow split rollers is disposed, and the print medium is pressed against the lower peripheral surface of the split roller.
The present invention is characterized in that a weight is attached to at least one of the divided rollers.
According to the present invention, the printing apparatus can rotate a printing medium that prints on a printing medium, a printing medium conveyance driving unit that conveys the printing medium to the printing unit by rotation of a conveyance roller, and a roll-shaped printing medium. A print medium supply unit that holds the print medium, a print medium discharge unit that guides the print medium in the discharge direction from the print unit, and a print medium supply side that guides the print medium supplied from the print medium supply unit to the print medium conveyance drive unit A guide unit and a print medium supply / conveyance path unit that guides the print medium from the print medium supply unit to the print medium supply side guide unit, and the tension of the print medium between the conveyance roller and the supply side guide roller exceeds a predetermined value The tension of the print medium is held at a predetermined value by the torque transmission cutoff operation of the torque limiter.
According to the present invention, a first torque limiter is coupled to the support shaft of the supply side guide roller, a second torque limiter is provided in addition to the first torque limiter, and the second torque limiter is mounted on the support shaft. It is characterized by being detachable from the shaft.

  In the present invention, since the surface of the roller is engaged with and held by the cloth or the like by contact from the back side of the printing medium, an appropriate tension can be applied to the entire printing medium such as the cloth and the generation of wrinkles can be prevented. Further, since the torque is adjusted by the torque limiter, it can be conveyed with constant tension. In addition, since a roller is provided at a place to change the conveyance direction of the medium, not only the upper surface of the roller but also a certain distance on the peripheral surface is gathered on the cloth, so that no slip occurs between the roller and the cloth. In the case of a wide print medium, the contact area in the width direction is large, so that the print medium can be reliably held only by contact from the back surface. In addition, since a torque can be selected by using a combination of a plurality of torque limiters, it is possible to apply necessary tension to various kinds of cloths, such as cloths that are easy to stretch and cloths that are difficult to stretch.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a print medium supply unit of the apparatus. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a part of a print medium supply unit of the apparatus. It is a section explanatory view showing other embodiments of a printing medium supply part of this device. It is explanatory drawing of a supply side guide roller. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a print medium discharge unit of the apparatus. 1 is an overall perspective view of a printer device. It is a whole explanatory view of this device. It is explanatory drawing of this apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the printing medium discharge part of this apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of a discharge side guide roller. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an appearance of a part of a print medium discharge unit of the apparatus. It is sectional explanatory drawing of the flexible division | segmentation roller mechanism of this apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the flexible division | segmentation roller mechanism of this apparatus. It is whole explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of this apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of the printing medium supply part of this apparatus. It is a section explanatory view showing other embodiments of a printing medium supply part of this device.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall structure of the printer apparatus 2. In the figure, the left side is the front of the apparatus 2, the right side is the rear of the apparatus 2, and the direction perpendicular to the paper is the head operating direction.

The printer device 2 includes a printing unit 4, a printing medium conveyance drive unit 6, a printing medium supply side guide unit 7, a printing medium supply conveyance path unit 8, a printing medium supply unit 10, a printing medium discharge unit 12, and a printing medium. A medium discharge / conveyance path unit 14 and a print medium winding unit 16 are provided, and are supplied from the print medium supply unit 10 to the gutter 18 (see FIG. 8) of the printing unit 4 through the print medium supply / conveyance path unit 8. Printing is performed on the print medium by ejecting ink from the print head 24 of the head unit 22 (see FIG. 6) of the printing unit 4.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the device 2 as viewed from the front. The printing unit 4 of the printer apparatus 2 includes a head guide rail 26 supported by the machine body 2 a of the apparatus 2, and an ink jet head unit 22 passes along the head guide rail 26 via a carrier on the head guide rail 26. It is movably attached. The direction along the head guide rail 26 of the head unit 22 is defined as the Y-axis direction of the device 2.

Below the head guide rail 26, there is provided a print medium support portion 28 called a platen that supports the print medium 20 and guides the print medium 20 from the rear to the front of the machine body 2a. The lower ink discharge range) is provided with a gutter 18 which is an ink receiver that receives ink falling through the texture of the print medium 20 among the ink ejected toward the print medium 20. The ink discharge surface of the print head 24 is horizontally disposed opposite to the print surface of the print medium 20 in the area of the printing unit 4.

A transport roller 30 and one or a plurality of pressure rollers 32 are disposed in the vicinity of the movement path of the print head 24. The transport roller 30 is connected to an X-axis drive device controlled by a controller, and is connected to the machine body 2a side. It is rotatably supported. The pressure roller 32 is supported by the head guide rail 26 so as to be movable up and down with respect to the transport roller 30 and is elastically contacted with the transport roller 30 horizontally by a spring or its own weight.

The conveyance roller 30 and the pressure roller 32 constitute a print medium conveyance drive unit 6. A tension bar mechanism 36 for applying tension to the print medium 20, guide rollers 38 and 40, a flexible split roller mechanism 42, and a guide roller 44 are arranged in the print medium supply / conveyance path section 8. Legs 2b, 2b and a base plate 2c are fixed to the body 2a, and the body 2a is disposed on the floor via these. Delivery devices 48 and 50 are arranged on the base plate 2c.

The supply shaft 34 provided in the delivery devices 48 and 50 is connected to a motor controlled by a controller. As shown in FIG. 8, the support shaft 52 of the supply side guide roller 46 is connected to the support shaft 64 of the transport roller 30 through a belt transmission mechanism and a gear mechanism, and is configured to rotate in the opposite direction to the transport roller 30. Has been. In the belt transmission mechanism, an endless belt 58 is hung between a belt pulley 54 fixed to the support shaft 64 of the transport roller 30 and a rotatable belt pulley 56 on the machine body 2a side. In the embodiment, the supply side guide roller 46 is configured to rotate in the direction opposite to the conveyance roller 30. However, since this mechanism is not necessary, the supply side guide roller 46 may be selected and used as necessary.

A gear 60 is fixed to a roller support shaft fixed to the belt pulley 56, and the gear 60 is rotatably supported on a support shaft 52 of a wrinkle removal supply side guide roller 46 via a bearing 93. I'm engaged. The conveyance roller 30 is fixed to the support shaft 64, and the supply side guide roller 46 is fixed to the support shaft 52. Each guide roller 38, 40, 44 is rotatably supported on the machine body 2a side.

The print medium supply side guide unit 7 includes a supply side guide roller 46 disposed in parallel with the guide rail 26 over the entire length in the width direction of the print medium 20 in the Y-axis direction behind the support unit 28 (see FIG. 6). The support shaft 52 protrudes from the center of both ends of the supply side guide roller 46, and a torque limiter 83. The support shafts 52 at both ends of the supply side guide roller 46 are rotatably supported by a support body 97 on the machine body 2a side via a bearing 99.
On the surface of the pipe of the supply side guide roller 46, minute projections that mesh with the printing medium 20 are densely arranged, and thereby an engagement surface 46a is formed. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the meshing surface 46a is formed by spirally winding sandpaper around the surface of the pipe of the supply side guide roller 46. However, the meshing surface 46a is not limited to sandpaper. Various configurations can be employed.

A housing 83 a of a torque limiter 83 is connected to one of the left and right support shafts 52 by a set screw or a fixing pin 91, and a rotor 83 b of the torque limiter 83 rotates to the support shaft 52 via a bearing 93. The gear 62 that is freely fitted is coupled so as to be interlocked with the rotation direction. An intermediate portion of the support shaft 52 is rotatably fitted to a support body 85 on the machine body 2a side via a bearing 87.

  The rotor 83 b of the torque limiter 83 is rotatably fitted to the support shaft 52 and rotates in conjunction with the gear 62. The rotation of the rotor 83b is transmitted to the housing 83a and is transmitted from the housing 83a to the support shaft 52. When an overload is applied to the housing 83a, the torque limiter 83 disconnects the rotor 83b from the housing 83a, cuts off the torque transmission from the rotor 83b to the housing 83a, and keeps the load value on the supply guide roller 46 side constant. To control.

As shown in FIG. 7, the tension bar mechanism 36 includes a pair of swing arms 66 and a guide roller 68 that is rotatably supported between the arms 66. Each pair of swing arms 66 has a leg at each end. It is supported on the side of the mounting plate erected on the part 2b or the base plate 2c so as to be rotatable or movable up and down. As shown in FIG. 12, in the flexible split roller mechanism 42, three or a plurality of pipe-shaped split rollers 72 having the same diameter are loosely fitted on a support shaft 70 extending in the Y-axis direction.

In the present embodiment, the outer diameter of the support shaft 70 and the inner diameter of the split roller 72 are set to approximately 1: 3 as shown in FIG. 12, but are not particularly limited to this ratio. The ratio between the outer diameter of the roller and the inner diameter of the dividing roller 72 may be arbitrarily changed depending on the structure of the apparatus. The dividing roller 72 has a thickness and a weight that do not deform, and itself serves as a weight. Various values can be set for the weight of the dividing roller depending on the material of the printing medium 20 and the like. The support shaft 70 is made of an aluminum pipe, and both ends thereof are supported by support plates 74 and 74 fixed to the airframe 2a side. The split roller 72 in this embodiment is formed of a synthetic resin or metal hollow pipe, and a ring-shaped weight 76 is detachably fixed to the outer ends of the left and right split rollers 72. The weight can be attached only to the central dividing roller 72 and the right and left dividing rollers 72 can be configured not to be attached to the weight. When the weight is provided on the inner surface of the dividing roller, not only the central portion but also the left and right dividing rollers It is preferable to use a structure for attaching a weight. In such a case, it is not necessary to use a ring-shaped weight at the outer end of the split roller. If the structure is provided at a plurality of locations such as the end and the center on the inner surface of the split roller, for example, the weight only at the end When the ring is inserted, it can be in the same state as the ring-shaped weight provided at the end. Depending on the material of the cloth that is the printing medium, an optimum weight mounting configuration for removing the wrinkle of the cloth is appropriately adopted. When a weight is added to the central split roller 72, for example, in the split roller 72 of the present case, since a space exists between the support shaft 70 and the inner surface of the split roller, as shown in FIG. There may be a place where the weight W is placed on the inner surface to make it heavier. If the weight W cannot be put inside, a structure in which the weight is placed on the upper surface and rotated, or if a ring-shaped weight is not used, the weight is placed on the upper surface. The structure may be such that it is placed and rotated, or may be provided for each of a plurality of individual divided rollers.

As shown in FIG. 5, the print medium discharge unit 12 includes a discharge side guide roller 78 disposed in front of the support unit 28 (see FIG. 6), a support shaft 80 connected to the discharge side guide roller 78, and a torque limiter. 82. The discharge-side guide roller 78 is disposed in the Y-axis direction so as to cross the front of the guide portion 28 over the entire width in the width direction of the print medium 20, and the support shafts 80 projecting from the centers of both ends serve as the support body 84 on the machine body 2 a side. A bearing 86 is rotatably supported. The discharge-side guide roller 78 is made of an aluminum pipe, and an aluminum flange 88 is fixed to both ends of the pipe. A hole is formed at the center of the flange 88, and a support shaft 80 is inserted into the hole, and is fixed to the flange 88 with a set screw.

One of the left and right support shafts 80 is connected to the housing 82a of the torque limiter 82 by a set screw or a fixing pin 90, and the rotor 82b of the torque limiter 82 is rotatable to the support shaft 80 via a bearing 92. Are coupled to the pulley 94 fitted to the shaft so as to be interlocked with the rotation direction. An end portion of the support shaft 80 is rotatably fitted to a support body 96 on the machine body 2a side via a bearing 98. The pulley 94 is connected to a pulley (not shown) fixed to the support shaft 64 via an endless belt 100 constituting a belt-type power transmission mechanism.

  The rotor 82 b of the torque limiter 82 is rotatably fitted to the support shaft 80 and rotates in conjunction with the pulley 94. The rotation of the rotor 82b is transmitted to the housing 82a and from the housing 82a to the support shaft 80. The torque limiter 82 disconnects the connection between the rotor 82b and the housing 82a when an overload is applied to the housing 82a side, cuts off the torque transmission from the rotor 82b to the housing 82a, and keeps the load value on the discharge side guide roller 78 side constant. To control. In the present embodiment, the torque limiters 82 and 83 use a contact type based on a coil spring system. However, when the present invention is implemented, the torque limiter is not limited to the torque limiter shown in the figure, and a non-magnetic type is used. A contact type torque limiter or other known torque limiters can be used.

  In the present embodiment, the rotation speed of the discharge side guide roller 78 is set to be higher than the rotation speed of the conveyance roller 30, and the rotation speed of the supply side guide roller 46 is also set to be higher than the rotation speed of the conveyance roller 30. . Since the conveying roller 30, the discharge side guide roller 78, and the supply side guide roller increase the rotational speed given to each by changing the diameter of the pulley on which the belt is applied, the discharge side guide roller 78 and the supply side guide roller 46 are increased. The final peripheral speed is adjusted to be faster. It should be noted that the rotation speed and the peripheral speed of the discharge side guide roller 78 and the supply side guide roller 46 may be freely adjusted, and are adjusted so as to maintain a tension state as necessary. The rotational torque of the discharge side guide roller 78 is set to be smaller than the rotational torque of the transport roller 30, and the rotational torque of the supply side guide roller 46 is also set to be smaller than the rotational torque of the transport roller 30.

On the surface of the pipe of the discharge side guide roller 78, a meshing surface 78a is formed in which minute protrusions meshing with the print medium 20 are densely arranged. In this embodiment, the meshing surface 78a is formed by spirally winding sandpaper around the surface of the pipe of the discharge guide roller 78 as shown in FIG. Various configurations can be employed. Also, sandpaper and other sandpaper and cloth files will deteriorate if they are used. In that case, only that part needs to be replaced. The print medium take-up unit 16 includes a shaft body that is drawn out from the print medium roll 20 a and takes up and collects the print medium 20 on which an image is printed by the print head 24.

Winding devices 104, 104 are arranged on the left and right sides of the base plate 2 c, and winding shafts 102, 102 are provided on the devices 104, 104, and the print medium 20 is wound between the winding shafts 102, 102. The shaft body is removably held. In the vicinity of the print medium winding unit 16, a flexible split roller mechanism 106 that guides the print medium 20 to a winding shaft is disposed. The flexible split roller mechanism 106 constitutes the print medium discharge / conveyance path section 14 of the apparatus 2.

The split roller structure of the flexible split roller mechanism 106 has the same configuration as that shown in FIG. In this divided roller component, a support shaft (not shown) is supported by the tension bar mechanism 108. The tension bar mechanism 108 includes a pair of arms 110. One end of the arm 110 is rotatably supported by a support on the leg 2b side, and a support shaft of the flexible split roller mechanism 106 is provided on the other end of the arm 110. It is connected. In addition, the structure which gives tension may use another mechanism, and may use structures, such as a tension bar which raises / lowers up and down.

One of the winding devices 104 and 104 includes a drive motor controlled by a controller, and an output shaft of the drive motor is connected to the winding shaft 102. Storage boxes 112 and 114 are provided on both sides of the machine body 2a of the printer apparatus 2. The one box 112 has a liquid ink ejected onto the print medium, a maintenance mechanism for maintaining the print head 24, etc. (capping mechanism and A cleaning mechanism and the like are installed, and an operation panel 116 for operating the printer device 2 is installed at the top. One box 114 has a space for maintenance when the head is moved.
In the above embodiment, the print medium conveyance drive unit 6 is constituted by a conveyance roller and a pressure roller. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to this embodiment, and as shown in FIG. A configuration in which the print medium 20 is transported by the travel of the endless transport belt 31 stretched around the rotating pulley may be employed. In that case, if the structure that meshes with the printing medium 20 is provided also on the surface of the conveying pelt and is provided at a position slightly higher than the supply side guide roller 46, it is necessary for the conveying belt 31 even if the printing medium is not pinched by the pressure roller. A conveyance force can be obtained.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.
First, the operator sets the print medium roll 20a on the supply shaft 34 and sequentially hangs the print medium 20 pulled out from the print medium roll 20a on the guide rollers 68, 38, and 40, and further, each division of the flexible division roller mechanism 42. Through the lower surface of the roller 72, the guide roller 44 and the supply side guide roller 46 are sequentially hung as shown in FIG. 7 and guided between the conveying roller 30 and the pressure roller 32.

The drawn print medium 20 is further arranged on the support portion 28, is further hung on the discharge-side guide roller 78, is guided to the lower surface of each division roller of the flexible division roller mechanism 106, and then is attached to the shaft body of the print medium winding portion 16. Wrap. Then, by pressing the lever, the pressure roller 32 is lowered and brought into pressure contact with the conveyance roller 30, and the print medium 20 on the guide unit 28 is sandwiched between the conveyance roller 30 and the pressure roller 32. The tension bar mechanism 36 applies tension to the print medium 20 in the print medium supply / conveyance path unit 8, and the tension bar mechanism 108 applies tension to the print medium 20 in the print medium discharge / conveyance path unit 14.

In order to finally make the print medium 20 ready for printing, after the print medium 20 is attached, the feeding device, the take-up device, and the conveyance roller are driven to put the print medium 20 in a tensioned state. Since the tension bar mechanisms 36 and 108 are held so as to be swingable up and down, if the print medium 20 is in a tensioned state, the tension bar mechanisms 36 and 108 move upward and sink downward due to the weight. To give.

  Next, the worker connects the external computer device and the printer device 2 via an interface, and turns on the power of the external computer device and the printer device 2. As a result, the external computer device enters a standby state waiting for input of a command from the operator by executing a predetermined program. Further, the print head 24 moves to the origin along the head guide rail 26.

  Next, the operator operates the external computer device to cause the printer device 2 to start printing an image. Accordingly, the controller built in the printer apparatus 2 controls the operation of the print head 24 while changing the relative positional relationship between the print head 24 and the print medium 20 based on the image data output from the external computer apparatus. Then, ink droplets are ejected toward the print medium 20 on the gutter 18.

In the process of printing an image on the print medium 20, the print medium 20 is conveyed from the rear side to the front side of the machine body 2a. The controller intermittently conveys the print medium 20 from the rear side to the front side of the machine body 2a by controlling the operation of the X-axis motor. The controller also controls the operation of the take-up motor of the take-up device 104 to take up the print medium 20 on which the image has been printed. At this time, the winding motor is controlled so that the height of the roller 106 of the flexible split roller mechanism is within a predetermined range (a range in which a load is applied).

In addition, the controller controls the operation of the feed motor so that the height of the guide roller 68 of the tension bar mechanism 36 is within a predetermined range (a range in which a load is applied), so that the print medium roll 20a. , And the print medium 20 is pulled out from the print medium roll 20a. The supply-side guide roller 46 rotates clockwise in FIG. 7 in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the conveyance roller 30, applies tension to the print medium 20 supplied to the conveyance roller 30, and engages the meshing surface 46 a. Meshes with the printing medium 20, and this meshing structure acts to stretch the wrinkles of the printing medium 20.

  When the tension (tension) between the conveyance roller 30 of the print medium 20 and the supply side guide roller 46 exceeds a predetermined value, the torque transmission blocking function of the torque limiter 83 works, and the rotor 83b rotates around the housing 83a. Thus, an increase in the tension of the print medium 20 is prevented. As a result, the tension of the print medium 20 between the transport roller 30 and the supply side guide roller 46 is maintained at a predetermined value. In this embodiment, the rotation of the supply side guide roller 46 is set in the opposite direction to the rotation of the transport roller 30. It is not limited.

As shown in FIG. 3, the supply side guide roller may be connected to the machine body side via a torque limiter to be in a restrained state. FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the print medium supply side guide unit 7, in which the rotor 83 b of the torque limiter 83 is fixed to the support body 85 of the machine body 2 a via the rotation stop plate 63. Other configurations are the same as those of the embodiment shown in FIG.
In the above-described configuration, when the tension of the printing medium 20 between the transport roller 30 and the supply side guide roller 46 exceeds a predetermined value, the torque transmission blocking function of the torque limiter 83 is activated, and the housing 83a is connected to the rotor 83b. Around the collar, an increase in the tension of the print medium 20 is prevented. As a result, the conveyance force that sandwiches and drives the print medium 20 by the conveyance roller 30 and the pressure roller 32 causes the conveyance to be pulled with a certain load by the supply side guide roller 46, and an appropriate tension state is given to the print medium 20. After the wrinkles are stretched, they are sandwiched between the conveying roller 30 and the pressure roller 32, so that the phenomenon that the wrinkles are generated is suppressed. Therefore, the load by the torque limiter of the supply side guide roller 46 is set to such an extent that no slip occurs in the driving of the conveying roller 30 and the pressure roller 32.

Next, the operation of the flexible split roller mechanism 42 will be described.
In the print medium supply / conveyance path section 8, the print medium 20 between the guide rollers 44 and 40 is pressed against the lower surface of each of the divided rollers 72, 72, 72 of the flexible divided roller mechanism 42 by the tension applied from the guide roller 68. . Each divided roller 72 is pushed up against its own weight from the initial state of FIG. 13A by the pressure from the print medium 20 in pressure contact with the lower surface, and guides the print medium 20 in the transport direction.

When the print medium 20 is a cloth, the expansion / contraction rate differs between the middle of the cloth to be conveyed and the end. Therefore, when a force for pulling the cloth is applied, both side portions are easily stretched as compared to the central portion, and if this stretch is left untreated, slacking occurs on both side portions, resulting in defects in wrinkles and conveyance accuracy. However, when both sides of the cloth are extended, the right and left split rollers 72 are tilted accordingly, and as shown in FIG. 13C, the split rollers 72 come into contact with each other according to the state of the print medium. Become.

The contact according to the state of the print medium at each location of the dividing roller 72 enables the conveyance by contact according to the slack of the both end portions of the print medium 20, and a load is also applied to the slack portion. For this reason, generation of wrinkles and defects in conveyance accuracy are solved. FIG. 13B shows a state in which a printing medium that hardly stretches is used, and shows a state in which all the dividing rollers 72 are pushed up by the cloth pressure, and the whole is linear in the horizontal direction. The weight 76 is provided to apply a heavier load to the outside of the cloth that is easy to stretch.

By attaching a plurality of weights 76 to the outer end portions of the left and right split rollers 72, the weight applied to the end portions of the split rollers 72 can be adjusted in various ways, and various fabrics (easily stretchable, difficult to stretch, etc.) It can be made to correspond.
Depending on the cloth, wrinkles of the cloth can be effectively removed by attaching a weight to the central divided roller 72 without attaching a weight to the left and right divided rollers 72. In particular, on the supply side, the central portion is made heavier, so that it is difficult to stretch compared to the end portion of the cloth, and the central portion that is difficult to remove wrinkles is stretched and conveyed to the supply side guide roller 46 so that the wrinkles at the central portion are reduced. Occurrence is suppressed. On the winding side, various measures are possible depending on the location, conditions, etc., such as making both sides of the split roller heavier in order to cope with winding with the end portion extended.
The configuration and operation of the flexible split roller mechanism 106 of the discharge / conveyance path section 14 are the same as the operation of the split roller mechanism, and the description thereof is omitted.

Next, the operation of the discharge unit 12 will be described.
By driving the motor of the X-axis drive device, the pulley 94 rotates faster than the conveying roller 30 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. The rotation of the pulley 94 is transmitted to the rotor 82b of the torque limiter 82, and the rotation of the rotor 82b is transmitted to the support shaft 80 of the discharge side guide roller 78 through the housing 82a.

As a result, the discharge-side guide roller 78 rotates at a faster peripheral speed than the transport roller 30. In front of the guide portion 28, the print medium 20 is brought into pressure contact with the meshing surface 78 a of the discharge-side guide roller 78 by a load by the tension bar mechanism 108, and is conveyed to the discharge side of the apparatus 2 while meshing with this. When the tension of the print medium 20 between the transport roller 30 and the discharge side guide roller 78 exceeds a predetermined value, the torque transmission blocking function of the torque limiter 82 works and the rotor 82b rotates around the housing 82a. An increase in the tension of the print medium 20 is prevented.

As a result, the tension of the print medium 20 between the transport roller 30 and the discharge-side guide roller 78 is held at a predetermined value, and the print medium in the print range under the print head is also held in a tension state. Printing on the print medium due to tension is executed and printed neatly.
Since this apparatus often prints on a cloth, it is desirable that the portion after printing on the cloth is not in contact with a platen or the like to be dried. Therefore, the tangent line at the uppermost end of the transport roller 30 and the discharge side guide roller 78 is set so as not to come into contact with the guide portion 28 when the print medium is in tension between the transport roller 30 and the discharge side guide roller 78. .

As a result, the air floats in the air until it comes into contact with the discharge-side guide roller 78 after printing by the print head, so that drying is promoted because there is contact with air on both the front surface and the back surface. Further, since there is no contact with other parts in the portion, the printed medium after printing does not get dirty, and the discharge-side guide roller 78 also comes into contact only from the back surface, so the surface does not get dirty.

In addition, since the supply side guide roller 46 and the discharge side guide roller 78 are provided at a place where the conveyance direction of the medium is changed, the cloth is gathered not only on the upper surface portion of the roller but also on a certain distance on the peripheral surface. Sliding between the cloth does not occur, and in the case of wide print media, the contact area in the width direction is large, so even a small protrusion such as sandpaper can be used to ensure that the print media does not slip with only contact from the back side. Can be held.

In addition to the roll-like printing medium wound, it is also possible to hold and convey cloth cut by conveyance with a meshing surface of the supply side guide roller 46 and a torque limiter, and keep the tension state In addition, it is possible to use a portion of the roll-shaped cloth that can be kept in tension even after it is removed from the paper tube. The supply-side guide roller 46 of the present structure can be finally eliminated before the printing unit 4 when wrinkles that could not be eliminated using the tension bar mechanism 36 and the flexible split roller mechanism 42 have occurred. Use in combination with these.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the present embodiment, the first torque limiter 83 is connected to one side of the supply side guide roller 46, and the second torque limiter 118 is detachably connected to the other side, so that various types of cloths can be appropriately tensioned. It can be used for transportation. The configuration of the first torque limiter 83 connected to one side of the guide roller 46 is the same as the configuration of the torque limiter 83 shown in FIG. FIG. 15 schematically shows the positional relationship between the first torque limiter 83 and the second torque limiter 118.

The rotor 83 b of the torque limiter 83 is fixed to the support body 122 of the machine body via the rotation stop plate 120, and the housing 83 a of the torque limiter 83 is fixed to the support shaft of the guide roller 46. A housing 118 a of the second torque limiter 118 is fixed to the support shaft 124 on the other side of the guide roller 46. On the support 126 side, an intermediate portion of the lever 128 is rotatably supported around an axis 130 perpendicular to the support shaft 124. A fitting recess 132 is formed on one side of the lever 128, and a fitting projection 134 is formed on the side surface of the rotor 118b. Further, the other side of the lever 128 has a structure in which magnets stick together, and in this case, a magnet (magnet) 136c is provided at the tip of a protruding shaft body 136b.

On the side of the support body 126, a case of a shaft detaching tool 136 that alternately holds the shaft in a protruding state and a retracted state every time it is pushed is fixed, and a shaft body 136b that is biased in a protruding direction by a spring from the case 136a. Protrudes, and a magnet 136c is provided at the tip. When the shaft body 136b protruding from the case 136a is pushed in the direction of the case 136a (left direction in the figure), the shaft body 136b is locked in the case 136a at a predetermined retracted position. The structure is released by being slightly pushed once again in the direction of the case 136a and is urged again in the direction of protruding by the spring. The solid line in FIG. 16 shows a state in which the shaft body 136b protrudes and presses one of the levers 128. The other of the levers 128 pressed by the shaft body 136b is pressed against the side surface of the rotor 118b and the fitting recess 132 is formed. It is fitted to the fitting convex portion 134 of the rotor 118b.

In this state, the second torque limiter 118 is prevented from freely rotating and fastened to the support shaft 124 of the guide roller 46, and the torque of the torque limiter 118 is applied to the support shaft 124. In order to release the fastening of the second torque limiter 118 with the support shaft 124, one of the levers 128 is pushed in the clockwise direction in FIG. 16 about the shaft 130, and the shaft body 136b is moved into the case 136a. Retracted toward the case 136 and locked to the case 136 at a predetermined position. As a result, the lever 128 is disengaged from the fitting concave portion 132 of the lever 128 and the fitting convex portion 134 of the rotor 118b as shown by the phantom line, and the torque limiter 118 is freely rotated. The state of disengagement between the lever 128 and the rotor 118b is separated by a clockwise rotational force in FIG. 16 centering on the shaft 130 of the lever 128, and is provided at the tip of the shaft body 136b. By 136c, the lever 128 and the shaft body 136b stick together to maintain a stable release state. In addition, since the fitting convex part 134 of the rotor 118b and the fitting concave part 132 of the lever 128 are positioned so as to be fitted at a specific place, the fitting is performed by the shaft unmounting tool 136 on one side of the lever 128 with the shaft 130 interposed therebetween. If the support shaft 124 is rotated while the fitting recess 132 is urged with respect to the direction of the projection 134, the support shaft 124 is fitted at a specific place, and the torque limiter is prevented from freely rotating at that time.

By adopting such a structure, the second torque limiter 118 can be fastened and released from the guide roller 46, and the torque applied to the guide roller can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to apply a necessary tension to the printing portion, and it is possible to supply a good print portion.
In this embodiment, a structure for engaging the second torque limiter with the guide roller 46 is provided on the side opposite to the first torque limiter. For example, the structure is the same as that of the first torque limiter. A known mechanism that can be attached to and detached from the support shaft of the supply-side guide roller, such as a second torque limiter provided on the side, and the torque can be increased by enabling engagement / disengagement with a gear. It is possible to adopt, and it is not particularly limited to the illustrated structure.
The torque limiter connected to the support shaft of the discharge side guide roller may be provided with a second torque limiter, and in that case, the discharge side torque may be adjusted to match the supply side.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 Printer apparatus 2a Machine body 2b Leg part 2c Base plate 4 Printing part 6 Print medium conveyance drive part 8 Print medium supply conveyance path part 10 Print medium supply part 12 Print medium discharge part 14 Print medium discharge conveyance path part 16 Print medium winding part 18 Gutter 20 Print medium 20a Print medium roll 22 Head unit 24 Head 26 Head guide rail 28 Support section 30 Transport roller 31 Transport belt 32 Pressure roller 34 Supply shaft 36 Tension bar mechanism 38 Guide roller 40 Guide roller 42 Flexible split roller mechanism 44 Guide roller 46 Supply side guide roller 48 Delivery device 50 Delivery device 52 Support shaft 54 Belt pulley 56 Belt pulley 58 Endless belt 60 Gear 62 Gear 64 Support shaft 66 Arm 68 Guide roller 70 Support shaft 72 Split roller 74 Support plate 76 Weight 78 Discharge Side guide roller 8a meshing surface 80 support shaft 82 torque limiter 83 torque limiter 82a housing 83a housing 82b rotor 83b rotor 84 support body 85 support body 86 bearing 88 flange 90 set screw 92 bearing 94 pulley 96 support body 97 support body 98 bearing 100 endless belt 102 Shaft body 104 Winding device 106 Flexible split roller mechanism 108 Tension bar mechanism 110 Arm 112 Storage box 114 Storage box 116 Operation panel 118 Torque limiter 118a Housing 118b Rotor 120 Rotation stop plate 122 Support body 124 Support shaft 126 Support body 128 Lever 130 Shaft 132 fitting concave part 134 fitting convex part 136 off-axis mounting tool 136a case 136b shaft body 136c magnet (magnet)

Claims (2)

  A printing unit that performs printing on a printing medium, a printing medium conveyance driving unit that has a conveyance roller and conveys the printing medium to the printing unit by rotation of the conveyance roller, a printing medium supply unit that supplies the printing medium, and printing A printing medium discharge unit that guides the medium from the printing unit in a discharging direction; and a printing medium supply side guide unit that guides the printing medium supplied from the printing medium supply unit to the printing medium conveyance drive unit. A printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting a printing liquid from a printing head of a printing unit to supply a printing medium to be supplied, the supply side having a meshing surface that meshes with the printing medium on the circumferential surface of the printing medium supply side guide unit A tension is applied to the print medium that includes a guide roller and a torque limiter coupled to the support shaft of the supply-side guide roller, and moves the supply-side guide roller in the direction of the conveyance roller of the print medium conveyance drive unit. Grant The tension of the print medium between the print medium conveyance drive unit and the supply side guide roller is maintained at a predetermined value by the torque transmission cutoff operation of the torque limiter, and the print medium supply unit Flexible division comprising a support shaft arranged in a direction crossing the print medium on a print medium supply conveyance path for guiding the print medium to the print medium supply side guide, and a plurality of hollow division rollers loosely fitted on the support shaft A medium transport mechanism in a printing apparatus, comprising: a roller mechanism, wherein the print medium is pressed against a lower peripheral surface of the split roller, and a weight is attached to at least one of the split rollers. A printing unit that performs printing on a printing medium, a printing medium conveyance driving unit that has a conveyance roller and conveys the printing medium to the printing unit by rotation of the conveyance roller, a printing medium supply unit that supplies the printing medium, and printing A printing medium discharge unit that guides the medium from the printing unit in a discharging direction; and a printing medium supply side guide unit that guides the printing medium supplied from the printing medium supply unit to the printing medium conveyance drive unit. A printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting a printing liquid from a printing head of a printing unit to supply a printing medium to be supplied, the supply side having a meshing surface that meshes with the printing medium on the circumferential surface of the printing medium supply side guide unit A tension is applied to the print medium that includes a guide roller and a torque limiter coupled to the support shaft of the supply-side guide roller, and moves the supply-side guide roller in the direction of the conveyance roller of the print medium conveyance drive unit. Grant The tension of the print medium between the print medium conveyance drive unit and the supply side guide roller is maintained at a predetermined value by the torque transmission cutoff operation of the torque limiter, and the supply side guide roller A first torque limiter is coupled to the support shaft, a second torque limiter is provided in addition to the first torque limiter, and the second torque limiter can be attached to and detached from the support shaft. A medium transport mechanism in the printing apparatus.

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